Joining Three Continents, Sinai is a majestic natural wilderness with a rich and ancient spiritual history. At the heart of Sinai lies its spiritual centre, St. Catherine’s, a village built around the famous Monastery of St. Catherine and the towering Mount Sinai. The Monastery, which is within walking distance of the village was founded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6^th Century. The Monastery, where monks still lead a secluded life, Surrounds the Chapel of the Burning Bush, and contains a great Mosaic of the Transfiguration of Christ, a rare collection of icons, and sacred paintings, along with an extensive library of religious documents.

Who is St. Catherine ?

She was a daughter of an aristocratic family and was born as Dorothea of Alexandria in 294 AD. Described as a beautiful young woman, she was educated in philosophy, rhetoric, poetry, music, physics, mathematics, astronomy and medicine. It was when a Syrian Monk converted her to Christianity that she was baptized as Catherine. In the early 4^th century, Catherine publicly accused the Emperor Maxemlianus of sacrificing to Pagan idols (another version of this story has it that the Emperor wanted to marry her, but she ignored both his promises and his threats). Maxemlianus, at his anger decided to device a special form of torture for her -a studded wheel. Catherine was bound to this wheel but she remained unrepentant. The wheel was spun on which she was bound and it is said  that a thunderbolt shattered the wheel before she was harmed further ( this is where the “Catherine Wheel” firework originates). Nevertheless, the Emperor was determined and Catherine was finally beheaded in 415 AD. In legend it is said that Catherine’s body was carried off by angles to the summit of Mount Catherine in southern Sinai where it lay in a grave in a rock for 300 years. Monks from the Monastery found her body, miraculously preserved and brought her to rest in the Basilica. She became a major saint and since the 11^th century the Monastery of the Transfiguration has been named after her.

Close by the Monastery is Mount Sinai, where Moses is Said to have received the Ten Commandments. Many people climb the staircase of rocks that was built by the monks; 3,750 steps, to the summit ( 2,285 meters), either on foot or camel back, accompanied by a guide. From the top of the mountain, your imagination is captured by the breathtaking view as the sunrises over this ancient land.

Why go to a desert ?

Note the looks of surprise and amazement of people you tell that you are going to a desert. What else does a visit to a desert, most notably the Sinai, do for us ? Well, previous visitors of Sinai have remarked on their return on how being in the desert affected them. Without realizing it at first, they felt changed , they felt different about themselves, about others around them and environment in general. The desert gives us space to think and reflect in a way many of us feel is difficult to do in an urban setting. Spending time in the desert , away from recognized ’comforts’ and amenities, allows you time to think about things other than those which preoccupy us every day. It is said that the apparent emptiness of the desert, without the many distractions of the big city life, helps to empty the mind of the petty bits and pieces we find  filling our heads.

Visiting the desert is primarily an experience aimed at nature lovers but the benefits of  it can be felt by all regardless of age and background. You don’t have a profound understanding of the desert, religion or the Middle east to enjoy and learn through the desert, just an open mind and willingness to experience the wonder that is the Sinai Desert.

How to put the Red Sea in its geological setting?

The Red Sea is created by the same tectonic stresses which formed the Dead Sea and the Eastern African Rift Valley, the red Sea is up to two miles deep in places. The Sea  is effectively separated from the Indian Ocean by an underwater “sill” at Bab El-Mandab, roughly 100m below the surface. The Gulf of Aqaba itself can attain depths of 1,830m in places, but it is the fact that neither the gulf or the main basin of the Red Sea is fed by rivers that leads to its rate of evaporation exceeding any rainfall, resulting in an exceptionally warm and salty sea. This is partly due to the fact that the Red Sea is surrounded by desert. All of these conditions provide the ideal environment for the regions tropical fish and world renowned coral reef.

What is the Red Sea most prominent treasure?

Coral reefs of the Red Sea are the most precious treasure and it forms the backbone of the Red Sea’s ecology. Coral is created by the building, generation after generation, of limestone “exoskeletons” by tiny polyps which extract calcium from the sea water and lay down the limestone deposits. A healthy  reef can grow four to five centimeters per year, but bruising, in some cases even brushing against the organisms, can retard the growth, and sometimes kill the coral. Coral reefs are marine habitats which provide a home for huge numbers of fascinating animals and plants. Most corals thrive in sea water temperatures of 25-29 degrees© and high light intensity is required (for photosynthesis) by the algae which live within the coral tissue. Reef building corals survive without these algae so the need of the algae for light restricts coral growth to water shallower than 30 meters.